Tag Archives: Wold Newton Family

This is a special bonus episode in celebration of Wold Newton Day, December 13th. In celebration of Wold Newton Day 2014, I’ll be discussing The Shadow: Midnight in Moscow written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin from Dynamite Entertainment. This comic book mini series is notable as being the first overt reference to Philip Jose Farmer’s Wold Newton Family concept in comic book format. The series also marks Howard Chaykin’s return to the Shadow since his landmark 1986 mini series at DC which revitalized the character.

Midnight in Moscow begins on January 31, 1949 and the rest of the story takes place in the early days of 1950, where as Chaykin’s 1986 mini series took place in contemporary times. Midnight in Moscow can be placed in the Wold Newton Universe. Midnight in Moscow is a prelude to the 1986 series, so by extension the 1986 series can also be thought of as being in the Wold Newton Universe as well if one wishes.

In this weeks episode I’ll be getting into the holiday spirit with Krampusnacht by Josh Reynolds. It’s a short story that features The Royal Occultist, Charles St. Cyprian and his apprentice Ebe Gallowglass.

St. Cyprian holds the post of the Royal Occultist, sometimes called the Queen’s Conjurer. The post was first held by the historical figure, John Dee, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Other notable Royal Occultists include the First Earl of Holderness, as well as Thomas Carnacki the Ghost-Finder.

The Royal Occultist is an ongoing series of stories. Reynold’s has written both short fiction and novels based around The Royal Occultist. There have been numerous pieces of short fiction published, with more on the way. The two novels are The White Chapel Demon and the recently released The Jade Suit of Death. As of this episode, the adventures take place between 1913 and 1925. In the three of the earlier tales, St. Cyprian is working alongside Carnicki as his apprentice. However, the meat of the series seems to take place in the early to mid 1920’s.

The series definitely falls into the occult detective subsection of Weird Fiction, but it also has ties into the Wold Newton Universe of Philip Jose Farmer.